From the 4 Nov. Washington Times - Inside the Ring. Excerpt follows:

"The Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) at Fort Leavenworth... One rite of passage is for each officer to complete a research paper"

"But over the years, the CAC products became too narrow and not necessarily geared toward challenges facing the Army..."

"The 'list' was the idea of Gen. William Webster, the CAC commander... He set up a senior editorial review board to come up with a list of topics that actually could help soldiers in the field..."

"Some of the 36 topics on this year's list: 'Cultural Awareness in U.S. Military: How Shortfalls in Past Conflicts Can Be Attributed to Lack of Cross-Cultural Capabilities'; 'Intel Operations in Urban Operations'; 'Case Studies: Training Indigenous Forces — Successes and Failures'; and 'Continuing Russian Lessons Learned in Chechnya.'

"Here's a topic that fits the ongoing war in Iraq: Defining Victory in the Aftermath of a Successful Campaign: Convincing the Enemy to Accept Defeat."